PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Last bastion of bottled pop

To Americans, it’s soda. To us Canadians, it’s pop. And to people who live on Prince Edward Island, it’s available only in bottles.

It’s been that way since 1984. Canned beer has not been sold on the island since 1973. The province banned cans to protect jobs at the island’s only bottling plant.

I like it. Fizzy liquids taste better out of bottles. But this unique slice of island life is coming to an end. Starting Jan. 1, 2008, the province will allow some cans and plastic bottles.

Half of the shelf space must still be devoted to refillable glass bottles, but it was nice to see the store coolers full of only tidy rows of cold bottles.